Proverbs 4:10

THE SEVENTH DISCOURSE

"Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings;

And the years of thy life shall be many. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom;

I have led thee in the paths of uprightness.

When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened;

And if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go:

Keep her; for she is thy life.

Enter not into the path of the wicked,

And walk not in the way of evil men.

Avoid it, pass not by it;

Turn from it, and pass on.

For they sleep not, except they do evil;

And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

For they eat the bread of wickedness,

And drink the wine of violence.

But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light,

That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

The day of the wicked is as darkness:

They know not at what they stumble."

"The years of thy life shall be many" (Proverbs 4:10). "The Hebrew in this line actually means, `thy years shall be multiplied'."[8] The fact of the life of Solomon having been cut short indicates that he did not follow his own good advice.

In this section, two ways of living are presented; and then they are compared. "Proverbs 4:10-13 describe the way of wisdom; Proverbs 4:14-17 describe the way of the wicked; and Proverbs 4:18-19 present a comparison of the two ways."[9]

"Thy steps shall not be straitened" (Proverbs 4:12). "The word `straitened' here is a derivative from an old English word strait which does not mean straight, but `strict' or `narrow.'"[10] The way of wisdom is "the narrow way" (Matthew 7:13-14), or the straitened way. This really should surprise no one, for the truth is always narrow, exact and minutely perfect. For example, the exact ratio between the diameter and the circumference of a circle is so precise that no exact statement of it is possible. It is placed at 3.1416159+!

"She is thy life" (Proverbs 4:13). "Here is another parallel between Wisdom personified in Proverbs and Jesus Christ the Incarnate Wisdom of John 1:4."[11]

"Enter not ... walk not in ... avoid ... pass not by ...turn from it ... pass on" (Proverbs 4:14-15). The object of all these impressive verbs is the way of the wicked. There is no way that language could more forcibly warn God's servant against the way of wickedness.

"They sleep not except they do evil" (Proverbs 4:16). "This and the following verses exhibit the extreme depravity and wickedness"[12] of hardened sinners. In a metaphor they are said to eat the bread of wickedness and to drink the wine of violence. They cannot sleep unless they have first exerted themselves in the perpetration of evil; and upon those days when they have not caused someone to fall, they cannot sleep at all! "The Bible does not hide the fact that one can become just as zealous for evil as for good."[13] Iniquity of the worst kind can become the food and drink of those who depart from the way of Truth.

"The path of the righteous ... is light ... the way of the wicked ... darkness" (Proverbs 4:18-19). There is nothing in these verses that is hard to understand or that requires any emphasis from scholarly comment. The most common metaphor in the New Testament is that which contrasts the way of God's children who, "Walk in the light as He is in the Light," and that of the sons of the devil who revel in "The works of darkness."